Forever Notorious

by Kathleen Brooks

  “You know I hate this and at some point I am going to shoot someone, right?” Dylan’s lips quirked. His girl would never back down from a fight, and he knew she was placing all her trust in him by staying behind. “Just do what it takes to get our friends back.”

  “I will.” Dylan just hoped he could get them all back alive.

  * * *

  “This is Ryan. In position and see no other people around.”

  “This is Matt. Same.

  “Lucas here. We’re in position and ready to move in.”

  “Talon in position and sniper at the ready. Have target in sight, but no clean shot.”

  “Walker, sniper ready. Have target in sight, but no clean shot either. I also don’t see any other people besides our own around town. Wait, there’s headlights coming in hot down Main Street.”

  Dylan saw them. The car was speeding quickly toward them.

  “Talon here. Should I take the car out?”

  “Negative. We need to see who it is first, and we don’t want to give away our positions,” Dylan ordered.

  “Oh no,” Dylan heard Matt mutter from his position on top of the law office building. “It’s Aniyah.”

  “Don’t shoot the car. I repeat, don’t shoot the car,” Dylan ordered as he watched in horror as Aniyah pulled up to the café and leapt from the car still in her pink and black zebra print pajamas and five-inch black feather-heeled slippers. She didn’t look around as she headed straight to the front door. “Move in quietly,” Dylan ordered the others as he rushed across the street. “Babe!” he yelled out loudly as he crossed the street.

  Aniyah had one hand on the glass door and had already pushed it an inch or so open when she turned to look at Dylan running toward her. Her face was awash in surprise and guilt.

  “Babe, I told you I would pick up the to-go order. You didn’t have to get out of bed for it. I was just running late from the office, but do you really think I’d forget to pick up your pie?” Dylan asked loud enough that he hoped the woman holding Zinnia hostage would hear him.

  “I . . .”Aniyah stammered. “I didn’t want to wait. You know what it’s like when I don’t get my dark chocolate. A girl needs her antioxidants, you know.” And with that she pushed inside right as Dylan was reaching for her.

  “Dammit,” he heard Talon mutter. “She’s in my way. I can’t see anything. Can you get Aniyah out of the way?”

  But now they were both visible to the woman who eyed them with anger. “What do you think you’re doing?” Then her eyes narrowed onto Dylan. “You’re with Abby’s security team. I’ve seen you around town with her.”

  “I’m a friend of hers. We grew up together,” he said honestly.

  “He’s my boo though,” Aniyah said nervously as she inched closer to him as if she was just now realizing she was way out of her depth. “Lordy, why do you have a knife on poor Zinnia?”

  “Go sit with the Rose sisters, babe,” Dylan said. “And calm yourself. That is, if it’s okay with you?”

  The woman jerked her head and Dylan practically pushed Aniyah toward the Rose sisters who reached up and grabbed their friend, putting their old bodies in front of hers as if to protect her.

  “If you know Abby, you can call her?”

  “Yes, I can,” Dylan said, reaching back for his phone.

  “Stop or I slice her head off.” She looked him over and set her mouth in a straight line. “Take off your jacket.”

  Dylan slowly unzipped it and let it drop to the floor.

  “Now, lift up each pant leg.”

  Dylan lifted each pant leg showing he didn’t have a gun strapped to his ankle.

  “Now lift up your shirt and turn slowly around.”

  And this was why Dylan had the gun wrapped up high on his back. He lifted his shirt and did a slow turn.

  “Okay, you can reach for your phone, but put it on speaker.”

  Dylan dialed Ahmed and put the phone on speaker. “Yes?” Ahmed answered and the woman pressed the knife tightly against Zinnia, but it was Poppy who cried out.

  “I said to call Abby,” she hissed.

  “I did,” he told her. “Is Abby at home?”

  “Is this Dylan? How are you doing?”

  “It is. I’m fine, sir. I was hoping to talk to Abby, though.”

  “One moment. I’ll get her for you.” Ahmed slid his hand over the phone and called out for Abby. While he did that, Dylan set the phone on the nearest table and held up his hands to show her he wasn’t dangerous to her. His hand rested on the opening of his collar for quick access to his gun.

  “Hey, Dylan. What’s up?”

  “Your time is limited,” the woman said, an evil smile stretching out across her face. “He’s found you, and he’s going to get his revenge.”

  “Who is this? Who is coming?” Abby demanded.

  “The savior who will lead us to enlightenment by purging the world of its evil . . . of you. You tried to stop the plan, but you can’t. You can’t stop the savior. And since I failed at getting you, I will not fail at purging this town.” She shoved Zinnia closer to the phone.

  “I have a shot,” Talon said into their coms.

  “Why do you need to purge anyone?” Abby asked as Dylan’s hand moved to feel the butt of his gun.

  “Because to be worthy of the savior, we have to purge the evil. Only then can we save ourselves and the earth,” she said as if in a trance. “And you missed your deadline. It’s been ten minutes. The deaths of these people are on you. The purge of evil has begun.”

  “Wait!” Dylan yelled as he saw Bridget and her dog, along with Aiden and Lucas, ready to attack from their position just five feet away in the kitchen. “Let me help you.”

  “I’m done waiting.” Her hand tensed and that was all the time needed. Dylan had given the code to move in. The dog gave a tense quiver and when Bridget let go, she launched herself forward, her teeth bared as she clamped down on the arm holding the knife to Zinnia’s face.

  The woman screamed and dropped the knife as Lucas grabbed Zinnia from her embrace. He had her out of the building within seconds. Dylan had his gun pulled and aimed at the follower in a blink. “Where’s Chet?” he demanded as the dog tightened her bite while the woman tried to shake her loose.

  “The savior will bring me eternal reward,” she cried out as she used her free arm to grab for something behind her.

  “Gun!” Aiden yelled and then five shots sounded almost in unison. The woman stared blankly ahead for a second as she took four shots to the head before falling to the ground. Only then did the dog release and return instantly to Bridget’s side.

  “We’re clear,” Dylan said and knew everyone would converge on the café. Almost instantly, Jackson and DeAndre were inside.

  “Baby!” DeAndre yelled, shoving his way past Jackson as Poppy gasped and ran to her sister.

  “You saved her,” she cried as she flung her arms around Lucas and kissed him before grabbing her sister, both of whom cried as they clutched each other.

  “I shot her, Sugarbear!” Aniyah said with a grin. “When I heard what was happening I had to come to protect my girls.”

  “Damn, baby, you did shoot her,” DeAndre said as Talon, Walker, and Deputy Cody Gray rushed inside. Talon rushed to Zinnia and wrapped her shaking body into his large one as if he could take all her fear from her.

  “Actually,” Walker said with a large grin, “that one was my shot and the one on the far left was Talon, the two in the middle belong to Jackson and Dylan. You can see from the window.”

  They all turned and sure enough, there were three bullet holes surrounded by fracture patterns in the window. Walker pointed to the table leg across the café. “That’s her shot.”

  Aniyah’s face fell. “Oh.”

  Dylan heard Ahmed smiling behind him as he clasped a hand on Dylan’s shoulder. He didn’t need to say anything. There was no way he’d teach Aniyah to shoot a target.

  “Don’t worry, Aniyah,” Dylan said. “I’ll
teach you to shoot if it’s the last thing I do.”

  Ahmed’s smile fell, but he just shook it off as an impossibility.

  “Well, what do we do with her?” Matt asked, looking down at Chet’s follower.

  “I need to call my boss. He’ll want her,” Abby said as she joined them. “Thank you for keeping our friends safe.”

  Dylan slipped an arm around her and pulled her close. He had a brief moment of relief that she was safe until he replayed the conversation he’d had with the woman. Chet knew where Abby was, and he was coming. Or at the very least, more murderous followers were coming.

  “Ahmed, can you take Abby back home while I clean this up?”

  “I’ll stay with you,” Abby said. While Dylan would love her to be with him, there was something he needed to do and he couldn’t do it in her presence.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Dylan teased. “Walker can stay and help me.”

  “Sure thing,” Walker said with his sniper rifle strapped to his back.

  “I need you to call your boss. We’ll move her to the jail and Cody can hand her off,” Dylan said to Abby.

  “No problem,” Cody said as Dylan felt Abby’s resolve going.

  “Maybe you all can take Zinnia and Poppy home, too. Make sure they’re okay? I see your mom and my uncles are taking care of the Rose sisters. This will help me a lot, then I’ll meet you back at your place.”

  Abby gave him a hard look, but seeing Talon and Lucas holding visibly shaking Zinnia and Poppy pushed her over the edge. “Okay. Don’t take too long or I’ll hunt you down. Be careful. They know about you, too.”

  “I know. I’ll be careful.” Dylan bent and placed a slow, gentle kiss on her lips. This time Ahmed didn’t even growl. He was making progress. “I’ll see you soon.”

  Dylan watched Abby leave with her phone to her ear and her parents on each side of her and surrounded by Jackson, Talon, Lucas, Poppy, and Zinnia. The uncles cleared out, taking the Rose sisters with them, each of the old ladies stopping to pull a brother down for a kiss to the cheek. And finally Matt, Ryan, DeAndre, Aniyah, Cody, and Walker were left.

  “I’ve taken pictures of everything,” Matt said. “What should we do now?”

  “Tomorrow morning I want you all to find out where that woman was watching us from. She knew quite a lot for not being seen by anyone in town.”

  “I’ll show her picture around,” DeAndre said.

  “Matt and I will search the area to find where she could have hidden.”

  Dylan got a text from Abby and looked up to Cody. “Someone will be here in thirty minutes to take her body. He won’t give you ID but he will give you a code word,” he said, showing the text with the code word to Cody. “Once the body has been taken, walk around and see if you notice any cars that don’t belong. Maybe we can find some information there. She didn’t have a cell phone or ID on her.”

  “Nash took a picture and will run it through his computers,” Matt told him.

  “Good. Matt and Cody can take the body to the jail. Ryan, can you and DeAndre put up something to cover the bullet holes? I’ll have someone out tomorrow to replace the window.”

  “Sure thing,” they said to Dylan as Matt and Cody lifted the body and carried it across the street.

  “I’ll get this mess cleaned up while you get something for the window,” Aniyah said, heading toward the kitchen.

  Dylan waited until it was just he and Walker left. “We need to see someone with knowledge on planning an ambush for when Chet comes. I want to make sure we trap him before he reaches the town. We can’t risk any more lives.”

  “Couldn’t agree more.”

  “Aniyah,” Dylan said, walking into the kitchen where she was filling a bucket with bleach and water to clean up the blood. He held open his arms when he saw evidence that she’d been crying. Aniyah buried her head in his chest and silently wept.

  “I wanted to protect them.”

  “You did. You were very brave,” Dylan said softly.

  “I didn’t. I messed up. Again.” Aniyah sniffed loudly as she hid her face from view. Aniyah was always so confident and so outgoing, he never thought it bothered her that she couldn’t shoot.

  “I’ll teach you. I promise. I will find a way for you to hit your target every time.” Dylan didn’t know how long it would take to be able to do it, but seeing Aniyah so hurt after she had been so stupidly brave, he would do anything to make her feel better.

  “Sugarbear is mad at me.”

  “He’s just worried about your safety. He loves you so much he couldn’t stand to see you hurt.”

  Aniyah nodded against his chest and pulled away when they heard the front door open again. “Abby is very lucky. There’s a lot more to you than that hot bod.”

  Then she pivoted on her heels and walked out of the kitchen with her tears drying.

  “You ready?” Walker asked, taking Aniyah’s place in the kitchen. “My car is out back if you want to tell me where we’re going.”

  “It’s not too far. Let’s go.”

  19

  “Turn in here,” Dylan ordered.

  “Well, you did say it wasn’t far,” Walker said as he parked.

  They got out and Dylan strode to the door. He rapped quickly and wasn’t surprised when the door opened after only a second. Nighttime was the hardest for some.

  “Sorry to bother you so late. We need your help,” Dylan said as the door opened wide.

  “Why do I have a feeling you’re not here for confession,” Father Ben Jacobs said as he closed the door to his small parish house behind Saint Francis Church.

  “I know who you are,” Dylan said, cutting to the chase.

  Father Ben was in his mid-thirties. His light brown hair was neatly trimmed. Instead of wearing his collar, he was in workout clothes. A heavyweight workout bag hung in the back corner of the small living room and still swayed as if it had recently been hit.

  “I know you do. I remember, too. Thank you for not saying anything.”

  Walker looked back and forth between them. “Care to fill me in?”

  “Do you want to tell him?” Dylan asked as they moved to take a seat.

  “I guess it’s time to come face to face with my demons,” Ben said, taking a seat and resting his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. “I always knew I wanted to be a priest. I graduated early from high school, went to college on a track scholarship, and then into seminary. I was teased a lot for being two years younger than most of my class, so I took up boxing to help fill out. I was pretty scrawny.”

  Dylan saw that Walker was listening just as intently. This was not the part of Ben’s past that Dylan knew about, but it explained a lot.

  “Upon my ordination, there was a notice put up that Catholic priests were needed for the chaplain department in the military. It was a calling. I had to join. I was called to protect the protectors. I volunteered and was accepted. I went through the twelve-week Chaplain Officer basic course where I learned all the noncombatant skills along with chaplain skills. While going through the course, I worked out twice a day. Running in the morning and gym in the evening. I got to know a high-level commander, who, unbeknownst to me, recommended me to go through the US Army Special Forces qualification course. I jumped at the opportunity and went through Airborne and Ranger school. I earned my Green Beret and became a Special Forces Qualified Chaplain.”

  Walker snapped his fingers. “I knew you had that look.”

  “Takes one to know one,” Ben said with a slight smile. “That’s why I did it. I wanted the soldiers I was providing religious guidance to know I was one of them. I understood the pain, the suffering, and the hardships of being Special Forces. I was one of them.”

  Ben stood up and grabbed a glass of water before sitting back down. “As a noncombatant, I had an assistant assigned, Jayden Sims. His job was to assist me, but what he really did was to fire the gun I was not allowed to.”

  Walker nodded with understanding and looked betwee
n them. “Is that how you knew Ben?” he asked Dylan.

  “Yes,” was all Dylan said. He remembered that night and would forever. But it wasn’t his story to tell.

  “I’d been in the Middle East for nine months with my Special Forces team. We were in a heavily attacked area, so I was the only chaplain from the military at the base. I’d given last rites and words of comfort to allied forces, our own, and even the enemy. It didn’t matter what religion they practiced. There was just so much pain that needed a comforting word. I celebrated Catholic Mass, held a nondenominational service, and even learned quite a bit about the other religions. I was what was needed, regardless of my ordination. It was a very dangerous place, but I’d adapted quickly. Until the night we were called in to aid in the rescue of a hospital that had been taken hostage.”

  “Is that why you were there?” Walker asked Dylan.

  “Yes. It could have easily been you who was called in, but they thought we were better suited for some reason. Ben’s team was our backup.”

  Ben continued the story. “My team was supposed to keep the exit cleared. We did so while Dylan’s team moved in. I prayed for the safety of the operators, and as I looked up to offer a prayer up to the heavens, I saw a glint in the moonlight. I told Jayden and he stood to protect me as gunfire sounded all around us. We were under attack but still had to hold the exit for the hostages. It was their only way out.”

  Ben took a deep breath and Dylan saw the way his knee bounced as he recalled that night. “My team fought hard, and we lost several brave men. I was performing the last rites on a downed member as Jayden, who was like a brother to me, covered for me. I’d been trained as a medic as well, but there was nothing I could do for the fallen soldier. We were losing. There was a terrible war cry and suddenly Jayden dropped. Enemies were advancing toward us.”

  Dylan reached over and gently squeezed Ben’s shoulder. The man stopped shaking and went on with his narrative. “I pulled Jayden into my lap. The injury was life-threatening if we couldn’t get him evacuated in time. He was unconscious and completely helpless. I bandaged him the best I could and when I looked up, I saw my brothers in danger. They were injured, dead, or fighting for their lives. The calling was as clear as the one I received when I was twelve years old to go into the priesthood. Protect your flock. I heard it as if it were yelled directly at me. So, ignoring the Geneva Convention and ignoring the United States Military noncombatant rules, I picked up Jayden’s weapons and stepped in front of my brothers.”